


Cyber Heaven and Digital Magic

by Madam_Violet



Series: The Vault Chronicles [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Introspection, Missy is adorable, The Vault (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madam_Violet/pseuds/Madam_Violet
Summary: “Doctor, you once said technology will always appear as magic to uneducated minds. Maybe it's true in both ways. The most mysterious forms of magic appear as mere chemical reactions to the driest minds.”Bill didn't know anything about Missy but she had a truth about the Master in any of his incarnation. How dreadful as they had became, they never lost their childlike sense of wonder when it came to technological miracles.





	Cyber Heaven and Digital Magic

"You know", said Missy out of the blue as she and the Doctor were casually sitting with a cup of tea and a magazine, "I really wanted you to take me with you in the graveyard."

The Doctor rose his eyes, showing interest in the Time Lady's confession. She didn't talk a lot about the past. She preferred staying focus on the present, and sometimes on a far future when she would be free. But she felt rather uncomfortable about the past.

"I know, Missy. If it hadn’t been for Clara I would have taken you with me. But she was emotionally distraught, and you were able to take care of yourself.”

Missy nodded, a bit of sadness in her clear blue eyes. She was able to understand, and the Doctor was proud of her.

“Hey”, he said with a smile. “I'm here, now. With you, and for a long time.”

She sipped tea, looking somewhere behind the Doctor. She was thinking, deeply immersed in her thoughts. He said nothing, letting her find her words by herself. She needed to formulate her own ideas, instead of listening passively to the long speeches he knew she only half understood.

“I really wanted you to like my present.”

“The Cybermen ? What in the Universe made you think I would enjoy receiving Cybermen as a birthday present ?”

It was a genuine question, free of sarcasm, and Missy's eyes focused on him, expressing a little bit more confidence. Good, she had to feel safe and confident. This place was meant to be her safe space, as the annoying humans said.

“They were good Cybermen.”

“Good Cybermen ?”

“Yes, they were human ones. Human Cybermen who once were your friends. Not all of them, but a few ones. And the other ones could have been your friends too because they were human, and from your favourite time period.”

“You wanted to give me friendly Cybermen ? Cybermen don't have feelings, Missy. You know that, since you made them yourself.”

“I know. But it's sad to be a Cyberman. And with my method, they still felt their body. It's not good to fell your body decaying. So I made a program to erase the pain.”

“You wanted to make painless Cybermen ?”

She nodded eagerly, encouraged by a warm look from the Doctor. He was interested in what she had to say, and it made her happy.

“Yes. But they had the choice, you know. They all chose to push the delete button.”

“No, Missy. They didn't choose. They were afraid and they suffered, so they didn't consent to become Cybermen. You understand that, right ?”

He was not chastising her, just making sure she get his point. So she bit her lower lip and nodded hesitantly. She wasn't sure why she did wrong, so she had to be honest. The Doctor told her honesty was the key to become better.

“Being immortal and powerful is good. Why would they refuse it ?”

“Because they're human. Humans die all the time. It's hard for us to grasp it, because Time Lords don't think a lot about death, but they're used to the idea. They believe in afterlife, they have ceremonies, traditions. What you did was wrong because it upset the natural order. It may seem cold, or cruel, but you have to let people die the way they want.”

“They were always surprised to be there. Some of them didn't believe in afterlife. And lots of them imagined something else. I tried to make this familiar, though. With offices, and a city, and a good looking interface.”

The Doctor smiled a little. Missy's vision of Earth and mankind was full of childish prejudices, and her description sounded like a Time Tot essay about 21st century Earth.

“You had an interface ? How was it, inside your Matrix Data Slice ? Was it like 3W Institute ?”

“Yes. Except it was whiter. Humans say death is white, like a white tunnel. And I had a garden and a tea reception room to welcome special people.”

“Special people ?”

“The ones you met.”

Missy took another sip of her tea, and nibbled her cookie. The Doctor was frozen by this sudden amount of revelations. They were small details he never really thought about, but it was Missy's perspective on a big evil scheme. Maybe not that evil, if she was currently saying the truth. More like a very badly lead good intention.

“And you had an interface for the other ones. Because they were too many to die everyday.”

“Yes. I called him Seb and he looked a tiny bit like Doctor Chang. He was like the agent in a black suit. You know, in the sci-fi film we saw together, with the man who can bend spoons with his mind and the handsome black man in a stylish long jacket.”

The Doctor smiled at the description. Missy really loved films and they watched a lot of them together. Watching films wasn't only a good escapism. It also helped her to express some concepts. He should buy her more DVDs.

“Was he nice ? Helpful ? Manipulative ?”

Missy chew her cookie, a deep concentration freezing her usually lively face.

“He was nice, and handsome. And a little bit manipulative too. He was independent, so I don't know everything about him. Not very clever, but he could improvise. He made many jokes.”

The Doctor could imagine without any problem what kind of jokes. He knew by heart what the Master called nice, handsome or funny. According to the description, the AI must had been like a digital copy of Harold Saxon, all young, bouncy and impish.

“But you saw him again, didn't you ?” Said Missy with a coy smile.

“Who ?”

“Your friend, the one with the moustache. And he shot me. I think he was still your friend even as a Cyberman. Wasn't it nice seeing him again ?”

Missy's sing song voice took the Doctor by surprise. Was she playing with him since the beginning ? He looked at her, casually talking about the most gruesome side effects of her plan. She was almost smiling, like she always did when she was boasting about her own cruelty. Maybe he'd gone delusional with his hopes and desires and lost sight of the real Missy.

“Don't say things like that.”

Missy blinked, confusion in her eyes. Maybe she wasn't teasing after all. It was hard to read through her.

“It was horrible, really horrible” answered the Doctor. “Kate thought about her father as soon as she grasped what happened in the graveyard. She was frightened to imagine facing him, not even knowing it was him. Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, the creator of UNIT, turned into a Cyberman.”

“He was still your friend, wasn't he ?”

“He saved Kate, after you threw her out of the plane. I still wonder why. Was it a glitch in the program ?”

Missy bit her lower lip and looked sheepishly at the Doctor. She expressed shame, real or not, it was rather good.

“I don't know. Maybe he didn't delete his emotions. Told you they had the choice.”

“Please, don't tell me more. I don't want to think about it. Kate would probably shoot you to death if she knew.”

“I liked him too, you know.”

Missy said nothing more, frozen in a half daydream state. She didn't finish her tea or eat more cookies. Looking at her closely, the Doctor noticed the tears. _Let her cry a few more minutes_ , he though. It was hard for both of them, but she had to think about what she'd done. After that, he promised himself to make her feel better.

 

 

The Doctor let Bill lead him through the floors of the mall. He was able to do shopping by himself, whatever Nardole said. He just needed a new USB drive because the primitive computers of the university weren't compatible with his favourite Neo-Japanese laptop he got in the 30th century.

They walked by a group of young people at the gaming section of the FNAC. Bill stopped to see the object of their interest. In the middle of the circle, a young man was moving around, a weird headset on his face.

“What is this ?” simply asked the Doctor.

“Virtual reality” anwsered Nardole.

“Thank you Sherlock ! I meant, what is he doing with it.”

“Video games” explained Bill. “I've already tried this at a friend's place, it's really fun. You should give a try !”

“Yes, give it a try” insisted Nardole. “We have a whole afternoon to buy a USB drive.”

The Doctor shrudded. His previous regeneration loved playing video games at Amy and Rory's house. He nudged a few people to approach the center of the crowd. Most of the youngsters were amused by the older man and let him take their place in the waiting line. It only took a few minutes for the Doctor to have the device on his head.

“So ?” Asked Bill. “How was it ?”

“Fun. Not as good quality as my sonic specs, but fun anyway. The headset gives a better immertion, though.”

“Hey, you're talking like a real gamer, Doctor !”

“I like video games. I played with the Wii at my friends place a few centuries ago.”

Bill frowned. Nardole explained.

“Centuries for him. But only a few years ago if we think in a linear way.”

“What kind of phone do you have ? Maybe you can download an app and buy a cheap cardboard headset.”

Bill took the Doctor's phone from his hands and froze, mouth agape.

“What's this ?”

“I Phone 12.”

“You're serious ? That's cheating !”

Before he could take it back, she had unlocked the screen. Her smile disappeared, replaced by confusion and somewhat disgust.

“What's this picture ?”

The Doctor frowned and gave a look to the device, followed by Nardole. The screen showed a picture of Missy. She was posing like a teenage girl, with the whole duck face and victory sign and silly filter. She had big eyes, pink cheeks and cat's ears and whiskers.

“Nice photo. I let her play with my phone this morning.”

“Doctor” scolded Nardole, “You shouldn't give her access to any comunication device. She's got her own locked tablet with games and videos.”

“It's just a few selfies. I was there all along, we even took a few ones together.”

He began fumbling through the menu. Bill shook her head.

“Seriously, I don't want to see this.”

“Oh”, said Nardole. “You look nice on this one.”

 

Later, at the Cafeteria, the Doctor showed quite proudly the pictures. Nardole seemed vaguely interested, commenting with a few compliments.

“She looks sweet on this one. You wouldn't guess she's a mastermind criminal with those little strawberries on her cheeks.”

Bill looked away, feeling uncomfortable. She wondered if she could talk about Uncanny Valley. An alien psychopath murderer playing casually with a children app, all smiling and happy. And she looked cute, no denying. The girl wondered if it was how a mouse would feel about a beautiful cat. Disgust and endearment almost intertwined.

“It's unsettling” commented Nardole. “For most people in the universe, technology is indistinguishable from magic. I thought an alien genius would be rather unimpressed by basic electronics. But no, she can play for hours with a simple augmented reality app.”

Bill took a sip of Coca Cola, eyes lost upon her friends heads.

“Doctor, you once said technology will always appear as magic to uneducated minds. Maybe it's true in both ways. The most mysterious forms of magic appear as mere chemical reactions to the driest minds.”

The Doctor looked at her and cracked a broad smile. Bill felt like in the auditorium, when a student asks a very clever question.

“It's in moments like that I remember why I chose to travel with you.”

 

When the Doctor came in the Vault, Missy was reading a Dr Seuss book on her bed. It was funny how regal and unaffected she looked when other people came, but relaxed and candid when it was the Doctor. She turned and waved airily at him. He noticed a few papers covred with writing and drawings on the tea table, and a rather detailed Cyberman model made out of paper and foil. It had a tiny moustache. The Doctor couldn't help but smile, unable to decipher her state of mind when she made this, but impressed by the quality of the makeshift toy.

“Hello, Missy. Did you have a nice day ?”

“Not bad, thank you. I wrote a few notes about the things we talked about this morning. Then I made a Cyberman with chocolate bar foil. Now I'm reading the Cat in the Hat again. It's funny when they have to tell the little imps the contrary of what they want them to do.”

“Yeah, reminds me of someone I know.”

Missy stuck her tongue out and got up from bed.

“Did you buy something for me ?” she asked childishly.

She was probably hoping for some casual little treat, like candy or a new book. Instead, the Doctor gave her the cardboard virtual reality headset. Missy frowned at it, visibly disappointed and a little bit curious.

“What is it ?”

“Cheap virtual reality. But it works well. Look !”

He put the cardboard googles on her nose, and a good headphone set on her ears. She moved back, taken by surprise. The Doctor laughted. She reacted like a cat with a tissues box on its head. When she realised what happened, a wild smile appeared on her face and she began walking around. It was only a video but she was completely immersed into it. She was looking in every direction, smiling and giggling. She wasn't in an Earthian prison anymore but wandering in space, relaxing new age music in her ears. The Doctor could guess any movment of the video just by watching her taking sprints and stopping randomly through the Vault. She looked so ridiculously happy he felt almost ashamed for not having thought about it sooner.

 

He knew he was probably doing something very wrong morally, but it couldn,'t help. Since she was going to frolic through space for the next fifteen minutes, he had time to give a look to her notes. He turned his head, to make sure she was still having fun in her little world. The papers were mainly covered in Gallifreyan, but also a bit of English and some pictures.

_Dear Doctor, I know I've been really really naughty, but I wanted to be like you. I wanted to be loved, to be adored as a Goddess. It's so good to be loved. Poeple loved me as Harrold Saxon, but they loved me even more as Missy. When I realised I was a girl I decided I would become Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is really magical, and she's loved by everyone. I wanted to take everyone into a magical place. I wonder what happen to humans when they die. I never really understood how all of this works, God, Heaven, Hell. It seems like superstitions based on nothing. Time Lords have created their own gods and Heaven, and also Hell._

The Doctor cringed despite himself at the mention of Hell.

_But humans know nothing of it. One day they will, but not during your favourite period. I chose your favourite period because I wanted to invite your friends to join your army. It was really a nice place, my Heaven, you know. We had tea, and a beautiful city in the sky, and wifi. I loved being there with all my new friends and Seb and also being on Earth with my scientists assistants. I felt like a benevolent goddess._

_When I woke up in my TARDIS there were Cybermen everywhere. I stole some Cybermen pieces to associate them with nanorobots. I was the first one to think about it. Cybermen from Cyberspace coming back to Earth with a miraculous rain. It was so pretty ! I was a bit worried because the last Cybermen I saw were suffering a lot. It's all blurry, I must have hit my head before regenerating. But I'm sure there was a girl. Young and pretty as you like them. Maybe she was my companion. I think It was my fault, I'm not sure, but I think she was converted. I can't remember well, maybe it was just a nightmare. I didn't want my Cybermen to be like the girl in my dreams. I wanted them to be happy Cybermen. The Cyberman girl was crying. It sounds stupid, I know, but i'm sure she was. My Cybermen wouldn't cry. Seb was always smiling. He was a bit mean sometimes, but he was funny._

_I often feel guilty for my domination shemes, but I wish this one succeded because I really created a perfect place and I wish it didn't stop. Maybe I shouldn't have put Cybermen. The Nethersphere was good, wasn't it ? I know you already saved someone in a virtual library so you must agree with me. Would you like to bring her back, even as a Cyberman ? If you died and you were out of my reach in a perfect heaven, I think I'll do anything to bring you back. And I wish you did the same for me because I would prefer being some kind of a Cyberman than being all alone without you._

 

The Doctor wasn't aware he was crying until a tear dropped on the paper. He stared at the notes a moment before realising the video was over and Missy was looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry, I couldn't help...” he apologised.

“You don't have too, they were for you.”

“Is it the truth ?”

“I think so. It was a long time ago and I was young, but I think it is true. Otherwise, I would have created Hell, or something like that.”

He walked to her and took her hands gently. She looked at him with adoration, pure love twinkling in her lagoon blue eyes. They remained silent for a moment, exchanging feelings, things no word would ever conceptualise.

“Did you like the video ? I can put you another one if you want.”

“I want something magical” she said with the cutest smile.

 

 


End file.
